Book Reviews

Properties of Gallium Arsenide (1986)

Published by INSPEC
ISBN 085296 3238
This is the second in the series of Electronics Materials Information Services (EMIS)
handbooks known as "Data Reviews". It is a collection of short articles which have been
published in scientific journals. The handbook contains over 100 data reviews contributed
by 32 authors working on various aspects of gallium arsenide. Each data review contains
both a summary of the data extracted and bibliographic references to these articles. Data
reviews originate from the information accumulated by the EMIS databank, a publicly
available on-line service produced by the Information Services Division of the Institution
of Electrical Engineers (INSPEC).
INSPEC have succeeded in editing a handbook which provides concise and critical
evaluations of the key physical, electronic, and processing aspects of gallium arsenide.
Each data review contains the current best estimates for the numerical values of one pro-
perty of gallium arsenide. The bibliographic references to each data review enable detailed
comparison of the quantitative analysis of the data reported in the handbook and simplify
the selection task.
The book is recommended as a shelf copy. The editors recognise the need for periodic
updates of each data review. They have also provided a reference to the dynamic
EMIS databank.
C.J. Patel

Amorphous Semiconductor Technologies and

Devices
Y. Hamakawa, Editor
Published by Ohmsha Ltd. and North Holland Publishing Co.
Price £78.57
This is a book written by several authors from different universities and industrial
research centres in Japan.
Recently there have been several books on physical properties of amorphous semicon-
ductors. The present book is unique in that it deals mainly with the technological advances
that have been made in devices based on these materials.
Amorphous silicon solar cells, electronic devices and optoelectronic applications of
amorphous materials are discussed in separate chapters. There is also a whole chapter
devoted to the preparation and growth kinetics of amorphous semiconductors. Each chap-
ter consists of several (three to five) lengthy articles written by different authors, each deal-
ing with a different aspect of the subject.
The main concern is to introduce the new techniques and findings, very little attempt is
made to relate these to the underlying physics. This is not a drawback as such, since the
book is not intended to deal with the physics of these materials. There are two chapters that

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